What constitutes a night flight
 

Having read comments on amenity bags only available for night flights, can someone tell me what constitutes a night flight. I am flying J in March on EK20 to Dubai, takes off at 20:30 and lands at 07:45 so I presume that's a night flight.
We then fly J from Dubai on EK 412 to Sydney we take off at 10:15 and land at
07:00, so the question I suppose is that considered a night flight, and would we get amenity bags on this leg...
Thanks for any guidance.

You should get bags on both. Lucky you! :D

I reckon the time has come for a 'sticky' thread to cover all future amenity kit queries.

In fact, I've already designed the sticky, in response to popular demand.

And rather than complicate matters with individual sectors/flight numbers, I felt it best to keep it nice & simple, by covering all possibilities & permutations.

It goes something like this :

A : You will get one
B: You won't get one
C: You might get one

(Oh, and the contingency survival plan : Pack a toothbrush in your carry-on - or just use one from the loo cupboard....;) )

[Applause] with both hands.

You might even add which kit you got, as there are now 9 different kinds.
I might choose my next flight depending on it :D:D:D:D:D


As for the toothbrush, you can get one as early as at the lounge.

But sadly no lotion........

I was on a night flight from KUL - DXB in J class..... Never received an amenity kit so don't get your hopes up.

Never flew on any EK flight after that.

You probably should have - what time was the flight?

Hi aceboy. This would have fallen into category B in my proposed new sticky.

It does sound horrendous to me, and I imagine it must have made your flight pretty miserable. Is this the specific reason why you "never flew on any EK flight after that" .....?? Totally understandable if that's the case ^

Did you address the issue privately with the Purser ? I think a suitable approach would have been a quiet word along the lines of ..... "How do you expect a J class passenger to survive for seven hours at night with no amenity kit ?"

(you can be sure of one thing : I bet none of the crew would have been willing to face a flight like that without an amenity kit of some sort. Typical, eh.)

It departed around 7PM from KUL

What is category B?

I did address this issue to the crew and they told me that for this flight they did not receive the amenity kit from Dubai...... You can say this is one of the reasons of quitting EK but not the main reason.

Ironically, QR failed to upgrade me to silver tier so that I can fly with them as opposed to EK :td:

I have yet to try Etihad Airways, but the negative reviews posted here are discouraging me from flying them.

Why have you stopped flying EK?

I have some spare kits from f and j if you need?

Hi again aceboy.

On your question re 'Category B' ...... may I direct you to my post #3 above, where the ABC categories are listed.

I'm glad to hear that you did take up your concerns direct with the Purser. Always better to do that than to wait until you've left the aircraft. I can understand why you were unhappy with the absence of a kit, and you might wish to take up m3red's generous offer.....?

Perhaps best in future to assemble & pack your own amenity kit within carry-on baggage, to cover these rather stressful situations ^

I wouldn't let poor reviews discourage you from trying Etihad. Don't forget that there is more of a tendency for posters to report negative experiences than good ones. Always better to make your own judgements and try different carriers - which I believe you like to do ....?

What a poor show by QR in failing to offer you Silver status :eek: Shame on them.

I am not enjoying my transit experience in Dubai.

First, I'm not enjoying my tier (silver) privileges. Why am I not granted access to the B-concourse lounge, and must walk all the way to lounges C or A to access the lounge? Not only walking all the way there is time consuming (making me have less time to enjoy the lounge prior to my flight) but is energy consuming as well (I believe the concourses are over a mile long as mentioned in the Ultimate Airport Dubai season 3 show.) I decided to fly Emirates to pamper myself, not expect some GYM exercise during transit.

Second, I'm not happy with the traffic in Dubai. Usually prior to landing we have to circle the airspace around 30 minutes before landing which is not a pleasant experience to have in Y class. Not only that, but it also takes time to part the aircraft to the gate or take-off due to the number of aircrafts ahead of you. When I fly, stress should be my least concern, not top.

Finally, Emirates have increased their fares. I remember how cheap it was to fly Y to KUL and now it cost almost 70% more of the price earlier quoted this year (little bit below double.) Why should I pay double the price to circle half an around in the airspace prior to landing, prepare for jogging during transit (no one wants to do jogging during transit,) and wait for like 10 minutes in the taxiway just to get a spot for take off?

I'm getting tired from transiting in Dubai for the reasons mentioned above.

I don't care much about the amenity kits. However, I was disappointed that I did not get what I paid for (value for money.) Don't you remember? I sacrificed a day flight (to enjoy the view outside) for an amenity kit, and failing to meet my expectations for the price they are charging in J class is completely, utterly unacceptable, especially for a loyal silver (potential gold) member like me :rolleyes:

This is what I have in mind for my future flights. I am learning from you guys ^:) especially after my bleeding hands incident with EK :mad:

The negative reviews seems to be more than normal. If it were few posts every month or so that would be acceptable but negative reviews very often (maybe once every 2 - 3 days) would make me reconsider taking Etihad...... Especially for silly reasons such as luggage loss or delays (which seems to be popular in Etihad complaints.) I definitely do not want to go through that experience when I travel.

I may either give them one more chance to do the right thing and upgrade me or just use my miles on a first class ticket for DOH - KWI just to try the tremendous popular Al-Safwa lounge (which I didn't like judging by the pictures.)

That's not a night flight... It lands around 22:30 at DXB.

Thanks for the detailed response aceboy

I always think that where negative experiences are concerned, it helps to put some 'flesh on the bone', as in fairness you have done so here ^

So if I have understood correctly, the key reasons for your disenchantment with Emirates could be summarised as follows :

1. They failed lamentably to provide you with a J class amenity kit, when you had selected a particular flight & departure time primarily for the purpose of receiving one.
2. Even allowing for any misunderstanding re point 1, they seemed oblivious and uncaring as regards your Skywards tier status and your admirable decision to sacrifice (in return for an amenity kit which, in the event, was never actually produced) the scenic viewing benefits to be had from an alternative daylight flight.
3. They have shamefully denied access to the lounge of your choice.
4. They have caused you significant stress by delaying your arrival into DXB as a result of enforced holding patterns.
5. Further stress was caused by your need to walk - and on occasion, even jog - considerable distances around the DXB terminal when in transit - only to then be delayed by ATC's failure to provide a prompt take-off slot once the aircraft on which you were travelling had begun to taxi.
6. Their fares are much higher than you wish to pay.

Well...... I can see that you have lost faith in Emirates.

But perhaps most worrying of all is the fact that Qatar were unwilling to offer an instant status match - and thereby risk losing your valuable custom, in the way that Emirates have done.

Personally I'm not sure what the answer is. It's quite a conundrum.

All I can suggest - in specific relation to point 5 above - is that you might wish to write to Emirates HQ and request if possible a dedicated 'meet & greet' service for any future arrivals and departures when travelling with EK, together with the provision of a personal 'buggy' + driver to avoid all that walking/jogging. Given your undoubted past loyalty to the airline, I feel it is the least they can do for you ; and it would be just recompense for all the physical & mental stress they have caused you.

Anyway, those are just my own thoughts FWIW. Perhaps others might advise.

I'm Silver and though agree the A lounge is a bit far if your transit is B to B, there's a decent chance both your flights won't be arriving AND departing from B, making one of the lounge on the way of your natural transit. Also going from B to A lounge is mostly vertical travel, as you are spat out by transit security almost in the middle or at the middle of the terminal, take some magic elevators onto the train, then do the same in reverse up to the A lounge, probably <100 steps total from security.

As a self-paid Y traveller I just got Silver this year after 9 months of EK Commitment and find it makes a significant difference to the quality of travel (incl several op-ups), but am looking forward to hitting Gold in a few months.

FWIW I don't think Hamad international on Doha has a very short transit for most people, that airport is massive, I've definitely walked for miles there (pretty certain none of the three DXB concourses is over 1km, let alone 1mi).